Catholic Left Has Lost Its Moorings

Throughout American history, there has been an uneasy relationship between those on the left side of the political spectrum who are religious, and those who are secular. It has been obvious that the two groups share the same politics, but just as obvious has been their point of departure—the origin of their values is quite different. This may now be changing: the religious left is becoming increasingly secular. The obverse is not true, i.e., the secular left is not becoming more religious.

Why the shift? The religious left has lost its moorings. Importantly, this is a phenomenon that has not gone unnoticed in the philanthropic community. Take what has been happening in Catholic circles.

The establishment has long hated the Catholic Church. We know this because the Foundation world has been awash with cash flowing to causes that specifically undermine Catholicism. The population control movement—which has long screened out so-called undesirables like blacks and Catholics—has been funded by the Rockefeller Foundation since its inception. The Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (sponsors of the so-called genius awards), the Hewlett Foundation, the Packard Foundation and the Buffett Foundation (named after the famed tycoon, Warren Buffett), have all contributed mightily to Catholics for Choice (formerly Catholics for a Free Choice). Which means they underwrite abortion and anti-Catholicism.

There is another foundation that gives to Catholics for Choice, and that is the Open Society Institute. Sounds professional. It is. It is professionally anti-Catholic. The guy who runs it is George Soros, the billionaire left-wing activist who has his teeth in every radical cause. Lately, Soros has expanded his reach by funding dummy Catholic groups like Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good and Catholics United.

Catholics United is listed on the IRS form of Catholics in Alliance, and is the more extreme of the two. Soros funds Catholics in Alliance directly via the Open Society Institute, and thus indirectly funds Catholics United. His goal is to undermine organizations that promote traditional values, and he is pretty good at it. Both of these shell organizations work closely with Catholic Democrats, another association of disaffected Catholics.

Catholics in Alliance, Catholics United and Catholic Democrats are all pro-abortion. If you ask their spokesmen, they will deny it. They will say that even though someone like Obama has a 100 percent approval rating from NARAL, and is the darling of Planned Parenthood—he has never taken a stance against abortion—none of this should matter. They still believe he is anti-abortion. Somehow they expect us to swallow their moonshine.

When Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius was nominated by President Obama to be secretary of health and human services, she was roundly criticized by the Catholic League and others for her unyielding pro-abortion positions. Her local bishop, Archbishop Joseph Naumann, asked her specifically what laws she had ever supported restricting abortion rights in her 30 years of public service. She couldn’t come up with any. But this didn’t matter to Catholics United—they praised her for her “deep Catholic faith” and opposition to abortion.

When the Obama administration took a position against conscience rights for healthcare workers, the Catholic League and other Catholic groups weighed in heavily against the administration. Catholics in Alliance, Catholics United and Catholic Democrats said nothing. This is telling: there is no more basic right than the right to refuse to perform an act that violates one’s conscience (and in some cases results in the certain death of innocents), yet none of these Catholic groups could summon the moral courage to defend Catholic doctors and nurses.

When Connecticut lawmakers sought to take over the Catholic Church (see the last issue of Catalyst), the Catholic League worked overtime with the state’s bishops to defeat them. We won. And what did these same Catholic groups do? Absolutely nothing. Now if they will sit on the sidelines and do nothing while fascistic legislators embark on a power grab to control the Church, how can they in any way be taken seriously as Catholic entities?

Voice of the Faithful is another fraud. In New York State, two bills are being considered dealing with the sexual abuse of minors. On one side are the bishops, the Catholic Conference and the Catholic League; all of them support a bill that treats public and private institutions equally. On the other side are the professed enemies of the Catholic Church. Voice of the Faithful is on their side: it is actively supporting a bill that works against the Church and gives the public schools a pass.

It is one thing for the ACLU to work against us. We expect that. It is something else altogether when those who purport to be on our side do.

But we remain emboldened. All across the nation bishops are stepping up to the plate in greater numbers than we have seen in years. So keep the faith! This isn’t over by a long shot.